Autistic Marine Court Martialed and Given Bad Conduct Discharge

[kpete]

Source: ABC


Autistic Marine Court Martialed and Given Bad Conduct Discharge
Joshua Fry Was Recruited Out of Group Home for Mentally Disabled
By SARAH NETTER
July 20, 2009

A Marine whose recruitment is under investigation because he is autistic was sentenced to four years in prison at his court martial Monday, but in a plea deal he will be released for time already served and receive a bad conduct discharge.

Pvt. Joshua Fry, 21, has been confined since July 2008 when he was found to have child pornography on his cell phone and computer despite being previously warned by his Marine commanders that it was forbidden. Fry also pleaded guilty to disciplinary charges, including unauthorized leave.

Under the terms of the plea deal, Fry was sentenced to four years and a bad conduct discharge, according to Marine Lt. Col. Sean Gibson. The sentence was reduced to 12 months and Fry received credit for the 359 days already served since his arrest, Gibson said.

The conclusion of Fry's court martial turns the attention to suggestions by Fry's family and members of Congress that he should never have been recruited into the elite force that bills itself as "The Few. The Proud. The Marines."



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=8130845&page=1

[MADem]

1. I am glad they're investigating his recruitment. I'd love to know how many

potential inductees were "on the floor" when that guy went through MEPS.

His autism must be mild if he was able to get throgh boot camp. Regardless, it's still a disqualifier. And the circumstances of his enlistment are absolutely egregious. I agree with Loretta Sanchez--it's time for a committee investigation:

According to a pre-trial motion filed by Fry's attorney, Marine recruiter Gunnery Sgt. Matthew Teson drove to a group home for the mentally disabled to pick up Fry and sign him up. The enlistment occurred despite a warning from Fry's legal guardian and grandmother that he was autistic, that he was not Marine material, and he could not sign a contract without her permission.

The lawyer's motion claims that Teson urged Fry to not mention that fact on his application.

Fry's enlistment was cited by experts as an indication that some recruiters are having a harder time filling their ranks in the face of extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., a 13-year member of the Military Personnel Subcommitteeand, told ABCNews.com that Fry's recruitment might be worth a committee investigation.

A high-ranking Marine based at the Pentagon indicated to ABCNews.com last week that an internal probe was likely....The Marine, who is familiar with the Fry case, requested not to be identified, but said the Marines are prepared to hold accountable anyone who may have acted improperly during Fry's time with the military. ...

[Odin2005]

2. Wow, I'm a high-functioning autistic (Asperger's) and I'd NEVER make it through basic training.

:wow:

[Soylent Brice]

3. i'm NOT and i wouldn't make it through basic training either.

[boomerbust]

What movie is that from

Hamburger Hill?

[boomerbust]

5. What movie is that from

Hamburger Hill?

[lefty2000]

6. Full Metal Jacket, I think. n/t

[boomerbust]

10. Thats it

I knew I seen that somewhere

[Uncle Joe]

14. Yes and that movie is the closest reflection to Marine Corps Boot Camp,

that I've ever seen.

[cactusfractal]

25. Agreed. Parris Island MCRD Summer 1984, 2d Bn. n/t

[imdjh]

7. I don't have aspergers and I might survive it, but thriving would be a stretch

I think we can reasonably assume that during WWII and other major drafts lots of people were processed and sent to war who we might not expect to "make it" or even be eligible today.

I'm an extremely modest person and always have been. The trespass on my body of boot camp is something I might think would be traumatic, but I would probably survive if the alternative were military prison. The yelling would be really hard on me. I saw the movie Tribes when I was 12 and any idea of joining the military passed from reasonable expectation. Training I understand, but abuse for the sake of "breaking down and building up" is a concept that I am still not certain is sound, even if I find the core concept to be traditionally and scientifically proven. Drilling I understand, mind control is another matter.

The culture of military induction bears several points of similarity to a cult. That doesn't mean that it doesn't work or that it isn't beneficial for some people, it's just something I find disturbing.

[mitchum]

16. That movie (Tribes) also convinced me that the military and I...

would never be a good fit
Wonderful film with great performances

[formercia]

32. Ditto

He surely impressed the DI.

[alfredo]

18. It's tough, but fun on some levels. I had some gawd awful times in basic, but

I also had some good times too. I still have friends I met in basic. That was 44 years ago.

I found that I was very good at bayonet. I learned how to disassemble and reassemble an M-14. I also learned how to roll a joint.

[ieoeja]

31. Most people are not killers. They have to do the "breaking down" of that barrier. n/t

[yellowcanine]

4. This is unjust. He should be given a medical discharge. As it is, he appears to have excellent

grounds for a lawsuit against the Marines. SOMEONE should have figured out that he did not belong in the Marines even if the recruiter was at fault.

[imdjh]

8. Think about that.

"You honor the defendant seeks relief because he has autism and the military tossed him out for having kiddie porn on his computer and cellphone."

[yellowcanine]

11. The tort was inducting him into the Marines in the first place. The reasons for his court martial

would not come up if he had a competent lawyer.

[NashVegas]

24. I Don't Think You'll Find Anyone Who Disagrees With Recruitment Was Pig-Headed

But even out in Civvie-land, no one is going to say, "oh, well, you have to excuse the kiddie porn, he's autistic."

[ck4829]

9. This is a symptom of the military's problems and recruiting gone awry

For all his faults and medical conditions, this man was able to pass his training.

This would be an inspirational story if he wasn't also a criminal and anti-social.

[truedelphi]

12. If his grandmother had legal guardianship and he really could not

Sign off on a legal contract, I think grandma might have a nice lawsuit on her side, on behalf of her grandson..

An incompetent person signing a contract that leads to his loss of freedom for several years might well have several hundred thousand dollars coming his way from whoever presured him to sign that contract and then went and deprived him of his freedom.

[cactusfractal]

17. "Breaking down to build up" is ESSENTIAL

I mean ESSENTIAL. But you aren't breaking the recruit, per se - you're breaking the bonds between that recruit and his conceptions of self, really. A cohesive military unit must function as a single organism, not a whole bunch of people generally aligned toward the same end, as in the case of a civilian organization. This is ESPECIALLY important to combat units. You're also breaking the tendency to analyze an order and replacing it with reflexive obedience. When your PLC says to get down, you don't want some guy wondering why the LT said that and poking his head up to see, only to have it disappear in pink mist.

I loved Parris Island. Of course, I understood the WHY. Those who resist the discipline will fail. I cannot see even a high-functioning autistic being able to deal with the breakdown of habitual behaviors and replacement with the "Marine Corps Way". I wonder what's going on at MCRD that my beloved Corps let this guy through...

[truedelphi]

19. I have no idea of how or why they took this warm body in

As someone who has worked with autistic adults, you cannot break them down. They are in their universe. And they will break you down.

A woman who was cured of her autism described some of what she experienced in that state. If someone flushed a toilet in the building next door to her home, she heard that sound like a huge explsoion going off.

When it rained she heard the sound of machine gun bullets hitting the ground until the rain ceased.

[NickB79]

23. What woman was "cured" of autism?

Because the general consensus is that you can successfully treat autism, but it can never be truly cured.

[truedelphi]

26. There was a clinic in Switzerland that had

This very strange protocol wherein you made the autistic person listen to various sound waves, in sequence, and somehow this cured the autism.

A young woman who was one of the cures wrote a book about it. I lost the book when we moved.

I was expecting to hear more about this - it would be revolutionary.

But like Dr Cooper's cure from the fifties, this cure "disappeared." Cooper made tiny drips of alcohol into the thalamus of people with Parkinson's, deadening a certain specific section of the thalamus and thus curing the Parkinson's.

(Cooper's most famous patient was the photographer, Margaret Bourke-White, who wrote up her experience for Life Magazine.)

[Odin2005]

30. What BS. Snake oil, total snake oil.

[KamaAina]

27. I think she might possibly be a friend of mine!

That sounds exactly like a book by Mom's friend, in which Mom and I even have a chapter!

I don't believe in "cure" or "recovery" either. She and I have had this discussion. The odd thing is, during our last exchange of emails, she was all set to come out here and start a support group...

And as for me in the military? :scared: :scared: :scared:

[truedelphi]

28. I googled this and here is a link to the sound therapy -

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/742541/tomatis_listening_therapy_hope_for.html?cat=5

[Odin2005]

29. Anyone who saying they can "cure" autism is a liar and a fraud.

[Joey Liberal]

21. Good points, cactusfractal

I went through Army boot camp 29 years ago and back then the idea was to place as much physical and mental stress on us trainees as possible. They broke us down and built us back up - somehow turning us into soldiers along the way. The stress monsters in the round brown smoky the bear hats took a gaggle of young civilians and within 8 weeks had us functioning as a platoon/company of soldiers. Of course, the drills were mean, and went too far on occasion, but I found it to be a great experience. I don't think that a high functioning Autistic person would have made it through. Maybe its different now in the Army, but I can't see it happening back then. The Marine in question should have been given a medical disharge.

[cactusfractal]

22. Agreed on discharge, BUT....

he did have child porn on his phone.

[Joey Liberal]

33. I hear ya, but

Autism can make it difficult for a person to fully comprehend the consequences of their actions. Autism can ruin a persons decision making process. I know - my kid is autistic.

From one veteran to to another - I salute you!
JL

[Mithreal]

13. Now the Army on the other hand... nt

[justiceischeap]

15. The talk of lawsuits

I don't know how I feel about a probable pedophile being able to bring a lawsuit for unlawful imprisonment. It just seems wrong somehow.

[Joey Liberal]

20. If he's Autistic, why the bad discharge? nt

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

34. The recruiter PICKED HIM UP from a group home for the mentally frail

how is that not a glaring warning sign?